


Sometimes You Just Need A Mom

by caityjay



Series: Touch the Ground [4]
Category: Original Work
Genre: American Sign Language, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feelings, Gen, but in a non-traditional way, sloppy home sign anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-12
Updated: 2010-09-12
Packaged: 2018-02-08 11:51:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1939965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caityjay/pseuds/caityjay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not having a mom can be really hard. And it's only polite to share.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sometimes You Just Need A Mom

**Author's Note:**

> Random since I'm pretty sure it hasn't come up yet (someday maybe I'll make these into a coherent collection; until then, footnotes), both of Jamie's parents are CODAs (Children Of Deaf Adults). He and his sisters call themselves co-codas because they're dorks (I have no idea if this is a thing, I'm only a year into my official ASL study and I wrote this four years ago). Jamie (and his sisters) are technically fluent in ASL, but Jamie is extremely lazy and never practices outside of chatting with his grandparents and therefore uses really sloppy home sign.

"Damn. Is that your mom?"

Aaron nodded without looking up. From the corner of his eye he could see his boyfriend delicately lift the frame from his desk to examine it more closely.

"She's really pretty. You look like her."

Aaron smiled, but it was bitter. He knew he looked like his mom; for a long time he'd figured that was why his dad didn't seem to want to look at him anymore. At first, that had pissed him off, but the worse he'd gotten, the more Aaron wanted to cling to what he sometimes sensed were his father's last traces of compassion.

He didn't say any of that to Jamie, though. "Thanks."

The redhead set the picture back in its place and turned to plant a kiss on Aaron's head. When the silence returned, Jamie hovering patiently behind him, tracing patterns on his back, the brunette sighed softly.

"I miss her," he began, practically whispering because it felt like he should. "Every time I see that picture I wonder what she would think. What she would say. If she would care."

Jamie slid down to perch on the chair beside him, wrapping one arm around his waist in a half-hug. "She would care."

Aaron snorted. "Well, yeah. Of course. But, you know what I mean." He felt the other boy nod against his shoulder. They just sat for a moment, Aaron staring at the freckled hand lying against his stomach, and Jamie watching the familiar blue eyes of the woman in the picture.

"You know, you can borrow mine if you want. I mean, obviously she's not _your_ mom, but... well, she's good at being a _mom_."

Aaron really smiled this time. 

—

Aaron stood awkwardly in the living room, picking at a loose thread on his sleeve. "Um... Mrs. Callaghan?"

Jamie's mother looked up from the computer, swiveling the chair around to smile up at him. "Hello, Aaron. What can I do for you, sweetheart?"

The brunette had long ago learned not to fight it when he felt himself blushing. "I.... Can I talk to you?"

—

Jamie poked his head into the living room and blinked. Well, he'd found his missing boyfriend. Aaron was curled up with Jamie's mom on the couch, his face buried in her shoulder as she rubbed slow circles on his back. He must've been crying, then. Jamie frowned for a minute, struggling with a selfish need to be the one holding Aaron when he cried. 

Cate glanced up and smiled when she saw her son standing halfway in the doorway, emotional battle showing clearly on his face. She caught his eye and her smile deepened. Jamie sighed, but smiled back, signing THANK YOU.

She lifted a hand briefly from Aaron's back to say I LOVE YOU.

Jamie's hand poked back from the hallway, I LOVE YOU 2.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written in 2010. Damn I feel old.


End file.
